AROUND 22 million Brits would prefer to stay put rather than move to a bigger and better property – all to avoid the house moving process.

A staggering 83% of Brits consider moving house to be a highly stressful affair, with one in 25 of us resorting to paying over the odds in our current homes rather than moving out, according to research from property website fish4homes.

The moving process ranks top alongside divorce and redundancy when it comes to major stresses in our lives. And according to fish4homes, the biggest bugbears that make us see red when it comes to upping sticks and moving house are:

Previous occupants continually changing the moving out date (37%).

Endless hours spent packing and unpacking between houses (33%).

Moving into a filthy house (28%).

Dealing with tedious administrative tasks such as sending out change of address letters (27%).

Moving into a house that the previous occupants have stripped bare, such as taking out light bulbs (10%).

What’s more, the hidden “treasures” found in the nooks and crannies of new homes can be really off-putting, with one in 25 Brits when coming face to face with “these horrors” on moving day. Five horrors unearthed in the research were:

Old and dirty underwear.

Dirty cookers.

Bags of rotting rubbish.

A snake in a tank.

A drunken tramp.

On the flipside, new homes can also bring a touch of luck. The fish4homes survey also revealed that 1% of Brits have found valuable antiques on moving day, while some movers have tucked in to welcome gifts of champagne, wine and packs of lager left by previous occupants.

To make the house moving process as painless as possible, fish4homes has come up with some tips to help with a smooth move:

Make sure you have written confirmation regarding the moving date.

Book cleaners to blitz your new home before you move all of your boxes in.

Use a company such as Moveme.com to organise your move from writing the change of address letters to reminding you to book the removal van.

Be fully aware of your financial state – house moving is a pricey business with many hidden costs.

Label your boxes clearly so you can find your essentials easily.

Mark Fitzgerald-Cooke, sales director of fish4homes, said: “The motions of moving day can be chaotic at the best of times. With one in four stressing about the state of the house they’ll be moving into and a quarter losing sleep over the potential delay in moving in, it is no surprise that so many people admit to dreading moving house.”